Herb salad with lambs' liver, chickpeas and okra

Serves 4

Friday 11 April 2003 23:00 BST

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Lambs' liver is the poor relation of calves' but it's underrated, and properly cooked can be lovely and tender. When I see fresh lambs' liver on the supermarket shelves, I often wonder how and where it ends up. I reckon most of the time it gets the school dinner treatment with onions, spending an hour or more in the oven ­ to me that's 58 minutes too long. As far as offal goes, lambs' hearts and sweetbreads do need longer cooking, but liver and kidneys should be briefly cooked so they stay pink and juicy.

First make the dressing. Whisk the chilli sauce, ginger, vinegar and oil together and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add the chickpeas and put to one side.

In a deep-fat fryer or heavy saucepan, heat 8cm of vegetable oil to 160-180°C. Meanwhile whisk enough iced water into the tempura batter mix to make a smooth batter and season with salt and sweet pimenton. Test the fat to make sure it is hot enough by dropping in a little batter, then coat the okra well in the batter and fry for a couple of minutes until crisp and lightly coloured. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on some kitchen paper. While the okra are cooking, heat a frying pan with a little oil in it until almost smoking. Season the lambs' liver with salt and freshly ground black pepper and cook for 30 seconds on each side.

To serve, arrange the salad leaves and herbs on plates, then place the liver and okra in among the leaves and spoon the dressing over.